Author(s): Chris McMahon

Science Fiction

The first interstellar exploration vessel Starburst sets out from Earth in 2157, but this is no NASA science mission, it's funded by the mega-corporation ExploreCorp. A planet suitable for colonisation means not only massive profits, but a chance for Commander Janzen to restore his family's exalted position. But is the executive turned space-explorer, Janzen, equipped to deal with a real crisis? On approach to the planet Cru, the Starburst is hit with a surge of deadly radiation that kills most of the crew and disables the ship. It's a fight for survival as sub-Commander Karic struggles to get control of the fusion drive before the ship turns into a giant hydrogen bomb. Karic rises to the challenge as he takes command and leads the survivors to the planet Cru. The thirst for exploration and the quest for alien first contact soon go head-to-head with corporate greed and the need for profit at any cost, as Janzen and Karic clash. As if surviving on an alien planet wasn't hard enough, they soon discover that Cru is already occupied . . . and its once vast civilisation is on the threshold of a momentous change.